[Solved] Change cm to inches

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Gillie2tat
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[Solved] Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

I am on an iMac with OS Mojave and I think the version of OpenOffice which is installed on this system is somehow not showing the Tools-Options menu. I cannot for the life of me find it. I am an international user (British) and I want to change from cm to inches so that I can create a book template for 8" by 10" book sizes. I don't quite know what to do here and should be most grateful for any help. I have used OpenOffice for many years and have been very happy with it on both Windows and Mac, I find it doesn't glitch very often!
Last edited by Hagar Delest on Mon Dec 31, 2018 6:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: tagged solved
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FJCC
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by FJCC »

The menu referred to as Tools -> Options is under Preferences on a Mac. Something like Preferences -> OpenOffice.
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Gillie2tat
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

There is no option to change from cm to inches in the Open Office-Preferences section. I checked every option there. Thank you for telling me that it is there though, I hadn't realised that. I did check File-Properties as well.
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RoryOF
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by RoryOF »

On my computer, not a Mac, the path is /Tools /Options/ OpenOffice Writer / General. I hope you will now be able to find that on your Mac, under Preferences - OpenOffice
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RusselB
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by RusselB »

On my Windows 7 system, I'd go to Tools -> Options
This brings up the Options dialog.
In that dialog, I would select the + beside OpenOffice Writer, then select View
In the panel on the right hand side, under the heading View, there is a check box for Ruler, which has two other checkboxes that under it.
Beside each of those check boxes there is a dropdown list, where I can select 1 or 5 options. Those options are Millimeter, Centimeter, Inch, Pica, and Point

You should be able to find a similar dialog just by using Tools - Preferences, rather than Tools -> Options.

Hopefully the details given here will be sufficient for you to find the correct area on your system.
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Gillie2tat
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

No there's no Tools-Options OR Tools-Preferences in Mac OS Mojave! I think I've found a glitch!
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RoryOF
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by RoryOF »

On a Mac, I think the path is Preferences - OpenOffice - Options.
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Gillie2tat
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

No it isn't. There isn't a heading of Preferences. There is a heading of OpenOffice under which I can see Preferences. When Preferences opens up I get a screen with different options for setting up Writer, but nothing to change cm to inches.
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RusselB
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by RusselB »

Preferences is a menu selection.
If you don't have it then there's something wrong with your installation.
I just did a quick forum check for OpenOffice Preferences and got over 1,000 hits.
That means other members have mentioned using the Preferences menu to get at the same information as Tools -> Options over 1,000 times
If that option didn't exist, we would've heard about it long before now.
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by FJCC »

In my Tools -> Options menu I find the measurement unit as shown below.
Options.JPG
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

I do have it. The problem is that I can't find the option to change cm to inches anywhere in it.
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RoryOF
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by RoryOF »

Did you try clicking on the up or down arrows to the right of Centimeter?
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Bill
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Bill »

Gillie2tat wrote:No it isn't. There isn't a heading of Preferences. There is a heading of OpenOffice under which I can see Preferences. When Preferences opens up I get a screen with different options for setting up Writer, but nothing to change cm to inches.
If you have the Options dialog open, you should be looking under the "OpenOffice Writer" heading, not the "OpenOffice" heading.
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Gillie2tat
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

Here is a screenshot of what I see. I am looking in Writer by the way. This is what I get when I go to OpenOffice - Preferences and click on General.
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screenieofpreferences.gif
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RoryOF
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by RoryOF »

Use your mouse or cursor to move down to OpenOffice Writer (on the lefthand list), click on the triangle beside it, then select General and you should find the same screen as FJCC posted.
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Gillie2tat
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

YOU ARE A STAR! Sorry to shout, but that actually worked! Thank you so very much! I really appreciate all the help tonight.
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robleyd
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by robleyd »

May I suggest you take a few moments to look through all the settings and get an idea of what is available to configure?
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Gillie2tat
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Gillie2tat »

Thanks I will! I thought I had a fairly good idea of it but there is always something new to learn :)
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robleyd
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by robleyd »

You might also find [Tutorial] Mac FAQ a useful resource.
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Re: Change cm to inches

Post by Lupp »

(Spoken aside.)
The US joined the metre convention in 1878. The UK followed in 1884.

A few hundred states not only signed the convention, but also started to introduce the much better system to everyday life more than hundred years ago. The "imperialists" (peoples still using the "imperial mile" and other outdated units) connected their units originally defined in a way not at all meeting the needs of modern times to the metric system by re-definitions. Why not simply apply the SI?
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Re: [Solved] Change cm to inches

Post by Mookie87 »

I found a similar issue in OpenCalc. The OpenOffice version I am using is 4.1.10 on OSX Mojave and is set to centimetres as it's default unit of measure. This has been bugging me for the longest time, however being Canadian, I am familiar enough with the metric system. What I found out today is that you only see the General Preferences for the type of document you have opened. OpenOffice Writer/OpenOffice Base/OpenOffice Calc/OpenOffice Draw/OpenOffice Presentation all have their own version of the General Preferences. When I saw the screen capture posted by Gillie2tat in this thread,I thought to myself, hey maybe the General Preferences available are based on the type of document I am currently working on. Now that sounds perfectly logical but a lot of other programs will just list every sub program in their preferences. Is the OpenOffice method better than other office suites? Yes, but we get used to finding settings in a program based on our previous experiences and in my case, most of the suite applications I have used in the past show all program settings in the preferences. Glad to hear that you have pts changed to inches now. The forum here covers a lot of topics and patience is needed sometimes to find the answers or at least clues to provide you with your own answers.
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RoryOF
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Re: [Solved] Change cm to inches

Post by RoryOF »

For Calc, the units of measurement are accessed as shown in this screenshot
Units_Measurement.png
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Mookie87
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Re: [Solved] Change cm to inches

Post by Mookie87 »

Thanks Rory, I did not mention that my problem was resolved in my post, but I do have measurements in OpenOffice Calc set to inches now.
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RoryOF
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Re: [Solved] Change cm to inches

Post by RoryOF »

One can change measurements "on the fly" for an instance when prompted, by entering the measurement abbreviation after the figures - so in Page Margins, one could enter 0.8 in, or 2.0 cm, or an equivalent in pointed etc.
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Re: [Solved] Change cm to inches

Post by Mookie87 »

Thanks again Rory! Being a moderator do you any knowledge of whether a change will happen in the File/Open/Options File Types section. If they could show the last 10 to 20 file types used that would be awesome. I import csv files from databases all the time and I find I am always having to scroll to select 'csv or txt". I have posted this in the past and was hoping others would have agreed with me. I pity those working with presentation files, those available file types are way down near the bottom of the 103 options available.
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RoryOF
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Re: [Solved] Change cm to inches

Post by RoryOF »

If in /File /Open you type *.ods (or whatever file type you wish) the selection window will display only files of that type. Normally I have my latest files on /File /Recent Documents.
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